Horse Hooves
by GravityDefier7827
Summary: Stupid horse. She knew he was nothing but trouble, and now she had physical proof of that inkling. Ana Hillins is dragged into a world she never knew existed underneath the mountain. And a certain raven haired dwarf could have a thing or two to do with it. Kili/OC
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

_Pronunciations: Ana is said with an awe sound. Not an Anne. _

_AN at the bottom._

* * *

"By Mahal's beard, Ogri, you seem to get dirtier every time I turn my back on you."

The dark horse snorted at her, almost as if he was mocking her words. He shook out his dirt clad and grass stained dark mane, tossing clumps of mud onto the ground.

The small dwarrowdam sighed at the playful horse, patting his hard body as she reached to the other side of the stall to gather her washing supplies. "You know, you cause me more trouble than you're worth. Out of all the others I have to take care of, I _by far_ have to spend the most time on you. And for what?! The minute I leave you decide to go play in the mud. I really should have you locked up or something."

Ana, daughter of Storin, didn't have many friends to claim; at least other _dwarf_ companions. The horses she worked with seemed to like her plenty, though, and that was enough for her. After relocating back to Erebor, she lost many close friends she had as a young girl whose families decided to stay put. And after her three years of being in the mountain, one year of working at the stables, she hadn't had anyone take particular notice in her, besides the two neighbor sisters who lived next door. Besides them, she quietly kept to herself and her family.

As the last born out of five children, an unusual occurrence in dwarf families, the Hillins family remained particularly close, especially after the death of her mother fifty years ago. Each child, save Ana and her only sister ten years her senior, stepped into an adult to role to help support their father and family.

But now Ana was 81, more than old enough to begin pulling her weight. Her father wanted her doing something as least dangerous as possible, like her sister in the bakery; but due to the fact that she could set water on fire, being in the kitchens was out of the question. So off to the stables she went. And besides the occasional bruise or bite, no immediate danger was involved.

Except for when she dealt with Ogri, the devil horse. Some days, after work was done early, she'd try and sneak in a ride with the animal, maybe will him into being a majestic animal. Nearly every time they went out she'd come back with a limp and dirt stains, though. Due to certain employee guidelines – which were extremely unnecessary (really, who would steal hay for their own use?) – she couldn't ask who the owner was of the crazy beast and tell them that the horse needed to be trained to be more civil, if that were even possible. To make matters worse, the horse had been passed around to all the workers due to his wild behavior; and because Ana was the youngest and newest, Ogri became her problem.

"Hold still, Ogri. All I'm doing is combing your m– hey!" He swung his head towards her, his snout barely avoiding her eye. "No need to get hasty. I know you dread our time together as much as I do, you big fool."

With the clumps of dirt mostly removed from his dark mane, she grabbed a stool and pick. Sitting down and scooting as far under Ogri as she could, she grabbed his front leg and bent it on her knee, drawing her face close to his hoof for inspection. "Did you run in pure mud? Mahal, this is awful," she murmured as she began work on the black hoof.

Now onto one of his back hooves, which was even worse than the front, she could feel him becoming restless. One of his front legs began to stamp, he shook his head, he snorted and whined, and she could feel the leg in her hand start to tremble.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked the horse, tightening her grip on his leg so he wouldn't kick her. Ogri just whined in response. She ignored him and continued to work on the hoof, mumbling to herself about wanting one day of compliance with him.

"How're we today, Kol? You'll never guess what I've got you, had to steal it myself from the kitchens."

A deep voice echoed throughout her wing of the stables, and she knew that it wasn't one of her fellow workers. Everyone else was at least a good sixty years her senior, and this voice sounded much too playful and young. Whoever it was, Ogri was obviously excited to see him, because he never acted as anxious as he was in the present moment. Out of shock from the voice and fact that the stables, at least her wing, was normally ignored, Ana loosened her grip on the leg.

Big mistake.

The second Ogri's leg was free, he kicked back. She didn't have time to react from anything, and her head, still only mere inches away from her work, was the receiver of the horse large and strong hoof. With a quiet gasp, she fell off of her stool, back hitting the soft ground with an _oomph._

Her vision was blurry. She could tell because as she looked up, the panels of wood and stone began to dance and blend together. She blinked hard, trying to regain her focus, but to no avail. Far off in the distance, she could hear a man talking over the ringing in her ears, but couldn't make out what he was saying.

If her eyes would have stayed open only a second longer, she would have seen the face of a dark haired dwarf.

* * *

"Miss? Miss, are you all right? Of course, this would happen. Should I fetch some one? I probably should...but I can't just leave you here, now can I? You just had to knock her out, didn't you, Kol? Now I have to deal with it. Miss? Can you open your eyes? Wait a second – _YES! _Oops, I mean...yeah. Keep blinking, miss, that's it."

The man's rambling slowly became clearer and clearer as she awakened with a massive headache. It was as if she were resurfacing from a long time underwater; everything was fuzzy for a little while and then it was all clear in a second. Her hands shot to grab her temple to try and coax the hurting away. Her eyes shut again, blocking out the light that streamed in through the windows.

"No, no. Don't do that. Keep those eyes open, miss. Can you hear me?"

"No," she moaned, turning away from the voice.

Rough hands grabbed her shoulders, forcefully pushing her back to how she was lying. If her head wasn't so bloody hurt, she'd be shocked at the boldness of this dwarf. She squeezed her eyes even tighter, willing away the pain.

The stranger spoke again. "I'm going to prop you up, all right? It's the best way to deal with the dizziness. I should know," he chuckled as his inside joke. "But let me get you sitting up, okay, miss?"

Large hands enveloped her shoulders, squeezing them harshly as he hoisted her up onto her bum and against the wall. She moaned again, shaking her head against the movement.

Slowly, she opened her eyes again now that she was resituated. Blurry again at first, the man who caused this whole mess was now kneeling in front of her, a frown on his face with brows knitted. He had shaggy dark hair down to his shoulders and stubble across his neck and jaw. He couldn't have been much older than herself, if that at all. He was clad in a dark blue tunic with a green cloak spotted with dirt. If she had been in a right state of mind, the stains would have bothered her immensely.

"How's that? Better?" the young dwarf asked brightly.

"Unh," was all the response he got. Hopefully he would understand it as a distant agreement.

"Can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Four. I think?" Her vision was really starting to clear now, and the ringing in her ears was now fully absent. Her head still throbbed, though.

"Can you feel this?" he boldly and swiftly pinched the hand at her side.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, wrenching her hand into her lap and away from him. "I only hurt my head. It's not like I can't feel anything else."

"Just a precaution, miss. I'm, um, not quite used to making sure people are okay. That's usually Fili's job when this happens."

The cranks in her mind just now turning again, she slowly made the connection about what he had just told her. Fili, as in Prince Fili? Heir to the throne? Would that make this man a guard or something of the sort? She'd never seen any of the royal Durin bloodline very closely, only from a far. She knew there were three – Thorin, her king, and the two princes, Fili and Kili. From what her sister's told her, they were both extremely attractive and sought after dwarves.

"Well, I wouldn't quite say that. Fili's much more popular with the dwarf maidens than I am. He likes talking to them more than I do. But it is quite amusing to see my brother try to act flirtatiously."

Cheeks blazing, she realized that she must have voiced her thoughts just then. Oh, how embarrassing! Now he knows that she's uneducated about her king and his family, which was unacceptable under the mountain. Would he report her? Maybe if she could explain to him –

Her eyes went wide as the man before her broke out into a giant grin. This was no wandering dwarf. No, it was Prince Kili. Part of the Durin line. Potential heir to the throne. Royalty. In front of her, smiling like a dwarfling who had just received his first axe.

Ignoring the pain in her head, she pushed herself up from the ground and onto her feet. Clumsily and ungracefully, she gave a pathetic curtsey on wobbling knees. As she raised her head, she saw that he too had stood up to his full height, almost a head taller than her. Quickly brushing away any dark curls that had been plastered to her face, she gave him a nervous smile.

"My Prince K– "

He held up his hand. "No need to do that. It makes things more awkward than they should be. Besides," he looked around at the stables, "I wouldn't call this a 'royal setting' so I think we can pass up those formalities, don't you think?"

The Prince looked at her expectantly, the smile only slightly smaller than before. But then the twinkle in his eye dimmed and his mouth fell into a straight line as he took a step towards her. She immediately took a small one back, but the Prince placed his hand on her shoulder again, stilling her. She froze, daring not to blink or breathe when he stood so close to her, even though her pounding heart told her to do otherwise.

She was face to face with his blue tunic when he began to speak to her. "I should probably take you to go see some one. You've got a nasty bruise on your eye and if word got back to my uncle saying that I left a young maiden to fend for herself with an injury, well...I'd be walking with a limp for a few days. See, it's normally _me_ who has to be taken to see a healer. And even then I'm at fault some how." He laughed at another inside joke.

The instant she felt his hand lift she stumbled back until she found the wall again. "Your-your majesty, I do believe that, that I'll be fine. If a-anything, it's just a, um, slight headache. You s-see, black eyes are very, well, they're very common here. No fret, please."

His eyes narrowed playfully – oh, _Mahal, _what was he doing? "And how can I be sure that you're fine?"

Wringing her hands behind her back, her words spilled out of her like a waterfall. "Please, my lord, just take my word. This happens much more often than you'd think true."

"Is there some one I can get for you? Overseer? Father? Kin? Suitor?"

She let out a breathy laugh. "No suitor here, your majesty. Please, I am fine, I assure you. Go on with your duties, I'm sure they're much more pressing than my state of health."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "And what makes you think I'm here on duty?"

"Well...why wouldn't you be?"

He stepped aside, closer to the black horse. "I came to see an old friend today," he said, patting the now calm beast's middle. "Haven't seen him in so long. It took me awhile to track him down, mind you."

"Ogri is _your_ horse?"

He turned back to her, cloak whipping around him. "You call my horse an _ogre?!_"

Her blue eyes went wide again. "Well, you see, my lord, your horse, well...he's got an inkling for trouble. Excuse me for that."

He paused a moment, looking at her with a confused expression. Before she had a chance to cover her tracks, he began to laugh. And not just a small snort, but full on _howl_ with laughter. In the back of her mind, she was worried that Basil, an stern dwarrowdam who worked in the next wing over, would come to see what all the noise was about.

"Your majesty – "

"You," he breathed, "you call my horse," he laughed again, "an _ogre?_"

She knitted her brows together, "I'm sorry, my lord. It just came...natural, I guess. I...I apologize if it offends you."

"Offends me?" he called. "Mahal, I love it! I can't wait till Fili hears about this. It's perfect, absolutely perfect. Genius, if I may say so myself."

Ana was confused. And it wasn't because of the dull ache in her temple. What was this dwarf doing? Why was he not mad, or at the least, offended? This was nothing like the stoic prince her sister describes to her. This was a maniac and a child in disguise. Was he always this way?

"Well, I'm – I'm glad you find it appealing, my prince."

"What's your name?" he asked suddenly. "I need to tell my brother of you, he'll be laughing more so than I am."

"Ana, my lord, daughter of Storin."

He pointed a finger at her. "You're a keeper, Miss Ana." He reached into his cloak, digging around for something. "I almost forgot, I brought this for Kol – Ogri, sorry." He pulled out a carrot. "I was hoping that I could give this to him. A sort of peace offering for my absence for so long. I hope it's allowed," he added with a wink.

Ignorning that, she answered him, "By all means."

Quickly, he shoved the carrot in front of Ogri's mouth, who gobbled it right up. "Normally," Ana began, "I try to give them something good once a day, but a few of the other workers get mad. They say it's not right for them."

He was kneeling down now, stroking Ogri's face, when he inclined his head to her. "Everyone needs something sweet every once in a while," he told her.

She heard shuffling from around the corner at the end of the hall. That seemed to snap her back into the present and into the reality of her current predicament and her closeness to the prince.

"My lord, I think that maybe you should, well, you should take your leave." He stood up again. "No offense, your majesty," she added quickly at the end.

"Why?" he asked innocently. "I quite like it here, I never realized how quiet it is. It's nice."

"Yes, well...some of the others might be shocked to see you here unannounced. It'd be best if you returned with your guards, or something like the sorts. It's what you normally do, is it not?"

He scoffed at her. "If you're talking about Dwalin, that's a big no. He'd make all the people here faint out of fear. Besides, I like wandering around. Most people know that about me," he smirked at her, causing her to blush because of her ignorance to the matter.

"My apologies, then."

"Not needed, Ana, daughter of Storin. You know, if you refuse to let me take you to a healer, how about I stop in tomorrow? You know, make sure you're not dead."

Her hands went to her sides and fisted the fabric of her trousers. Oh, Mahal, she didn't even realize that she was wearing them. She must look like a joy; dirty, curly hair pulled back into an excuse of a braided bun, black eye, dirt dusted skin, and trousers. How respectable.

"Um, that would be acceptable, my lord. Even though unnecessary."

"Oh, shove it," he told her, making her eyes widen at his words. "Like I said before, my uncle, and brother now that I think about it, would strike me dead if I didn't at least make sure you're all right."

Looking down at the ground, she muttered, "All right then, if you insist."

"And I do," he threw back casually. He turned his heel and began to walk – more like bounce – out of the stall. Over his shoulder, he called back with a smirk, "Goodbye, Ana, daughter of Storin," before completely disappearing from view.

When he was gone, Ana took a deep breath. Ogri had waddled back over to her and gently nudged his nose to her middle. Oh, so now he was being kind? Stroking his mane, she whispered to him, "Oh, Ogri. What have you gotten me into?"

* * *

_I"M SORRY! I had to do this. I just couldn't. I'd love to hear your feedback, criticisms, reviews, comments, suggestions...I've run out of words. Tell me what you think!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Pronunciation guide for today:_

_Stala - with an awe sound, again. Like Stall-uh._

_Ula and Una - with oo lips._

* * *

Ana practically ran home from the stables; she didn't even stop to catch her breath after ascending the stairs of doom, as Stala, her sister, liked to call the main staircase. She kept her head pointed to the ground, determined not to let anyone see the black eye. Those that knew her would understand without asking because of her job, but those who didn't would surely cause some sort of scene. And she avoided those like the plague.

Ever since she was little she remembered hating the spot light. Stala and her second oldest brother, Storlac, would always sing and dance for their friends and family. One night, they dragged Ana out onto the floor with them, and when she saw all those eyes upon her – well, she flat out froze and began to cry. Ever since, she never put herself in front of audiences.

Thankfully, no one paid notice to her, and she tumbled through the door of her home in a panting heap. Leaning up against the now closed door, she waited for a family member to call out to her, as one always did.

"Father? Is that you? Stormal? Storlac? Stala?" It was Stornic, her youngest brother and middle child of the five. He sounded like he was in his bedroom, shared with the other brothers.

She answered him before he could get to her name. "It's Ana, Stornic. Always the last one."

Stornic popped out of his room and into the small main one. He stood five inches taller than Ana at 4'6'', complete with a mane and mess of brown curls that would not be tamed and a midsized beard. He had three single braids hanging from his jawline and chin with silver beads intricately strung at the end, the beads of their family and ancestry. Similar to Ana, but not to the rest of the Hillins', Stornic had his mother's stormy blue eyes. Possibly because of that connecting trait, he'd always been Ana's favorite sibling.

He was dirty, as her brothers always were, from the mines. All the Hillins men worked in the mines, even her old father. Black and grey soot covered his sweaty skin, clothes, and hair. That didn't stop his signature smile from breaking out on his face when he saw his sister, though.

"Glad to see you got off early as well. I can see why, though. Who was it this time?" he asked in his soft voice, gesturing to her eye.

Ana moved from the door and fell into one of the arm chairs in front of the fire pit. "Ogri, the blasted devil. Got excited and decided to take it out on me."

Stornic heartily laughed, seeming to lighten up the whole room; he had that effect on others. Placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, he said, "You can't be blessed with your charming looks all the time, dear sister. You have to give others the chance as well."

Cheeks flushed, she shoved his hand away and crossed her arms underneath her chest. "Oh, sod off, Nic."

Her brother only chuckled more, and before long Ana cracked a smile herself. She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm guessing you just came back from the mines?"

"Yeah," Stornic nodded. "My crew finished early. I'm sure the others will be back soon. But I did hear that they were having some issues in the west wing, so Stormal and Father could be delayed."

"What kind of issues?"

"Oh, probably just some loading ones. That tends to be true in most cases. Nothing to fret over."

She still did. There hadn't been a mine collapse, at least a major one, in all their years in Erebor. It was still a possibility, though. And with having four of her family members working in the mines, luck wasn't quite on her side.

"Did you get to see Stala today? I didn't have time to get anything from her," Ana told her brother. Their sister loved working in the bakery, she never shut up about it, really. She and two other dwarrowdams ran a shop in the market tiers.

"I did," Stornic answered, "Actually, now that I think about it, you're probably going to want to clean up that eye as best you can. Remember that dwarf lad she kept going on and on about a while back?" Ana nodded. "Well, apparently he's joining us in the dining hall tonight, and Stala's worried we won't make a good impression on him. So she'll be a tad bit bossy on us tonight."

Ana groaned. Stala's been through a number of suitors – none of them turned out to be serious, of course – but her sister became quite eager when it came to the matter. She always required perfection out of her large family when a dwarf would come to eat with them, and more often than not it was Ana and Stornic who seemed to cause the event to go downhill. Now in Erebor, however, her youngest brother turned more serious and left the screwing up for Ana to do.

"Which number is this again?" she asked with a groan.

She could hear her brother in his room, now; mostly likely shedding his work attire for something more suited for supper. "Mahal, I've lost count," he called to her. "Maybe the fourth? Or is it five? She needs a whack in the face to set her straight. No offense, Ana."

She laughed lightly, running a hand down her face, careful not to touch her eye. Her bruise reminded her of something she was going to ask one of her brothers. "Hey, Nic?" she asked him.

"Yeah?" she heard him call from the other room.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to make sense of her thoughts and turn them into words. "Have you ever spoken to the princes?"

She heard Stornic stomp his way to the entrance of his door. "No," he said while straightening out an old yellow tunic. "Why?"

"Oh," she waved a hand, "Ula and Una were speaking of them this morning while I was walking to the stables. I just didn't know if what they were saying was true or not." She didn't feel like telling her brother what had happened this morning, even if he was her closest confident.

"What were they saying? How handsome they are?" he teased while sitting next to her in his own chair.

Ana gave him a small glare. "No. They said that they were quite...cheeky. Not all prim and proper as Stala's been telling me."

"Well, I'm sure when they're with King Thorin they have to be. But many forget that they're just young dwarves, and brothers at that. I can only imagine the sort of mischief they get themselves into. If I'm not mistaken, they should be right around your age, Ana."

She scoffed at him. "I'm 81, Nic, not 40. Tell me how much trouble I get myself into." Stornic opened his mouth but she cut him off. "_Outside_ of our family."

A smug look settled on her face when her brother had to think. "Well," he said after a thoughtful pause, "I guess it's just a mindset one has to have. You've always been a by-the-book type of dwarf. But there's nothing wrong with that," he added.

"I wonder how they get away with that, with their uncle being the king and all," she spoke.

"They're royalty, Ana," her brother said while lifting himself up. "They can probably do whatever they want to. Unlike us. Now, you better clean yourself up. Stala will be down any moment and she might have a heart attack if she sees you like this."

"Nothing that I haven't handled before, brother."

Once in the security of her room, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She looked up to see her reflection in the small mirror on the wall. Her left eye was swollen, the area around it was black and purple, and there were even little trails off blood that ran down her cheek. Silently, she scolded her brother for not telling her how bad it actually looked, even though all she felt was a dull ache. Nevertheless, she'd have to deal with it one way or another. And so would Stala and her new suitor.

Grabbing a wooden bowl and cloth, she set out to the wash room. She had much work to do before supper if her sister wanted her looking remotely presentable.

* * *

"You can't sit with us."

"Excuse me?"

"I spoke perfectly clear. You're not to sit with us at supper tonight."

"I'm apart of this family! Don't you want this dwarf to meet all of us? Scars and all?"

"Yes, but you can only make first impressions once, Ana. I won't let you screw this one up. I'm very serious with him."

Ana threw her hands up in disbelief. "That's what you say to _all of them_."

Brushing her shiny curls for the umphundreth time, Stala was perched at the end of her bed, staring at herself intently at the mirror. Sighing, she placed her hands in her lap and stared at Ana with no sign of amusement on her long face.

"Faril is unlike any of the others, Ana. You'd know that if you would pay attention to what I've been saying about him." Stala had a deep, rich voice; opposite of Ana's lighter and softer one. The eldest sister could command the attention of all the dwarves in the dining hall if she wasn't careful with her volume.

"Does he even know about the others?" Ana asked speculatively. "And I do listen to you! Most of the time, at least."

Stala stood up and walked to her sister. She placed a hand on the younger dwarf's shoulder and squeezed. "I know you tried to look...nice," she glanced up at the black eye, now spotted with purple along with the previous dark colors. "But it would mean a lot to me if you met him later. After you're better."

Ana laughed. "I'm not ill, Stala. It's just a bruise. I'll look basically the same once it's gone. Besides, _I'm_ not trying to impress anyone. He's not trying courting me."

"Yes, but," Stala dragged the last syllable on, "my family is a representation of me. And as the only other female, I need you looking nice. Please, Ana."

Stala looked down at her with her deep brown eyes wide and face pulled into a pout. Ana absolutely _hated_ the puppy face, she was guilt tripped every time. With a loud breath, she pushed her sister away and rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll sit with Ula and Una. But you owe me for this, Stala. Especially because you're making this into a much bigger deal than it has to be."

The eldest sister simply said, "Good," before returning to her position on the bed and brushing her curls. She was still dressed in her baking dress, splashed with flour and icing. Ana knew she'd change into something more fancy for _Faril_ tonight. It was their mother who taught them to always present themselves in a fine light for their suitor, or any dwarf in that case. It seemed that Stala was the only one to take that advice to heart. Maybe she would, eventually...when she had a suitor. Maybe. Right now it seemed silly to her to dress up for a dwarf when he should, more importantly, love you at your worst.

Stala had three dresses spread out between the two beds in the small room. She asked Ana, "Which one do you think I should wear? I'm leaning towards the green one. It's Faril's favorite color, and Father told me it brings out my eyes. Hit two birds with one stone, am I right?"

Ana sighed. "That sounds wonderful, I'm sure he'll love it."

"Thank you for your enthusiasm, Ana. I really do appreciate it."

She smirked at her sister. "Thank you for your acceptance to all of your family, Stala."

She sighed. "You'll get over it eventually. I'm sure he'll have supper with us again soon, then you can be there. Without a black eye." Stala paused for a moment. "How'd you get it, anyways? One of the horses?"

Passing up the chance for sarcasm, she answered, "Yeah, one of the hooves got me. His owner got him excited and I was on the receiving end of the kick."

"Sounds horrid," she said, "I hope he took you to a healer, it looks like a nasty blow."

Ana laughed, "Yeah, it was. Knocked me blind and deaf for a good minute or two. And he did try, almost dragged me to one if I would have let him. I told him no, though. Multiple times, actually. He was a stubborn lad, that one. But you know I come home with all sorts of bruises, this one just happened to get my eye."

"Did you know him at all?"

It was a simple question, but it still caught her off guard. Well, she knew _of _him. Did that count?

"Uh...no. Not at all. Seemed all right, if anything a little excited about the small stuff. Good intentions, though." That seemed like a proper fit to the prince. Hopefully. Maybe? "He said he'd check on me tomorrow."

"So he's coming back now, is he?" Ana could tell by the tone of her sister's voice that she was smirking. "Must've had quite the impact on him, even with that nasty eye."

"Oh, hush," she told her sister blushing. "Believe me when I say he has much better things to worry about than a stable girl."

"Even so, if he's going out of his way to see you – "

She cut Stala off before she could continue. "It was the right thing to do, especially because I refused a healer. Now let's drop it, please. I have to leave anyways. Ula and Una normally go to the hall earlier than most. Father and the others should be back soon to wash. Good luck tonight, I guess."

Without bothering to hear her sister's response, Ana fled through the door. She offered a slight wave to Stornic before slipping out into the hall and began walking to the dining hall. This black eye was causing her more trouble than she could have imagined. And that was definitely not a good thing.

* * *

"Mahal, Ana, did you run into an orc's fist?"

Ula and Una, both similarly dressed in brown dresses, were already eating quietly together before Ana took a seat opposite of them. They both looked up to see her arrive before their brown eyes went wide with shock. Una was the one who spoke to her. At least she thought. She was always getting the two of them mixed up.

"No," Ana said, "it happened to be a horse hoof. And now that that's out of the way, let's move onto another topic, shall we?"

"But it looks _awf – "_

"I'm fine, Ula, really."

The sisters looked at her with scowls on their faces, but eventually let the topic go. Ula and Una were practically identical, expect for the fact that they were born three years apart. Ula was older at 78 years old, even though it was Una who acted like the elder. Both were shy with soft blonde hair and brown eyes. They liked to keep to themselves out of the way, just like Ana.

"So how was the shop today?" Ana asked. The sisters worked in their mother's dress shop in the market.

"Just like always," Ula began. And Una finished with, "Boring and long." They giggled.

"Oh, I'm sure it wasn't that bad. At least you both can be scouting out which of these dwarrowdams will be getting the skankiest dresses." Ana gestured with her head to the cluster of female dwarves at one of the tables. They were of all ages, shapes, and sizes, but together they had one goal in common: get as much attention as possible, especially from higher class dwarves. If they weren't ogling over one of the nobles they were prancing around the mountain like a dog on show.

"We already know. It's Mari, the red head one over on the left. But, if she has the assets and money to do that, more power to her, I guess," Una said while chewing on a potato.

Ana rolled her eyes. "When I get a husband, he better get used to covered ankles and high collars. I don't want to show myself off in any way, shape or form in public."

"Oh, Ana, just because you don't like attention doesn't mean you can't let your skin show. Don't be such a stick in the mud," Ula told her.

"I just don't see why you'd show your body off to anyone but your suitor. Am I right?"  
Una blushed at her words. "Well, I guess it can make you feel...empowering, you know? Glinten, well, he told me that whenever I wear something that makes me feel good I look more...comfortable." Glinten was a young dwarf a little older than Ana who had been following Una for a few months now. It was sweet because both of them were too hesitant to make anything out of what they had.

"Glinten told you that? First Stala now you..." Ana muttered to herself. "Is he going to formally court you anytime soon? Or are you two just going to keep at it?"

Una's cheeks blazed even more, but she still shrugged. "Whenever the time's right, I guess."

Ula's face hardened, and she immediately switched their conversation to something other than her sister's relationship. "Mahal, am I seeing right?" She was squinting above Ana's head.

"What are you talking about?" Una said.

"Up on the balcony," she pointed her finger at the high tier far away on the opposite side of the dining hall, "Is that one of the princes? Or is it Thorin? I can't see that far."

Ana swung her head around, ignoring the protest that her neck made. Sure enough, leaning against the railing was Prince Kili and one of his guards, a large bald man with tattoos across his head. The prince looked the same as earlier today, and it surprised her that he didn't have to dress more formally for supper wherever he ate it at. The men were both looking down at the hall beneath them, almost as if they were scanning it to look for some one. With a huff, she spun back around to eat the rest of her food. If they really wanted some one so bad, they would come down and get him.

"I wonder what he's doing out here," Una quietly said. "The king and princes rarely ever go up on the balcony."

"I'm sure it's something important," Ana told them. "Or at least relatively important. I don't think the princes keep as tight as a schedule or rulebook as their uncle does."

The sisters looked at Ana strangely. "What?" she asked. "Is it my eye again?"

They just shook their heads, returning to the food in front of them, and Ana was happy to follow suit. She had quite enough royal interruptions for one day.

* * *

_MERRY CHRISTMAS! If you celebrate it, of course. New chapter here for you all, hope it was decent. I really enjoy the build up of stories and the small characters, you know? Anyways, please leave a review and let me know what ya'll think. I LOVE feedback and especially suggestions._

_More Kili in the next chapter!_

_GD_


	3. Chapter 3

It was nearly one o'clock before Ana returned to the stables, and by that time she was done with the day.

The morning had gone awfully, having been stopped multiple times by dwarves she didn't know asking about her eye. She politely told every one of them – she lost count after the seventh one – that it had been an accident in the stables and that she was perfectly fine. She'd skipped looking in the mirror that morning in fear that the bruise would look even worse, which she knew it did.

Ogri was another pain. She had hoped after yesterday he might've been a little more...humbling towards her. So she took him out into the fields and tried to take him on a ride. That ended with a very frustrated Ana, clad with scratches and dirt stains, and an extremely proud horse. She quickly put him back in his stall and moved on to the next horse before he could wreck any more havoc on her.

Lunch was only slightly better. Word had gotten around to many of the families of her black eye – really, was it that big of a deal? – and she was only stopped three times. Planning on dropping by the bakery where Stala worked and hearing how dinner went last night, she was shooed off before she could even ask. Her sister had greeted her, but a moment later her eyes went wide.

"You've got to go, Ana. Faril's at the next shop and he thinks you're sick in bed."

Ana opened her mouth to protest, but Stala shoved a pastry in her hand and sent her off. "Go, please!"

Unamused, the younger Hillins huffed and turned around, praying that she could meet her brothers for lunch. That's if they didn't refuse her like her sister had.

They didn't, and so – thankfully – she returned to the stables in a remotely better mood, but she was still ready to retire to her home and not emerge until the next day. She could feel the oversensitive muscles around her left eye begin to throb out of annoyance as she grabbed her bucket of supplies. And somewhere in the back of her mind, she could tell that the afternoon wasn't going to be much better.

She was graced with an hour of peace before the next disturbance. She was grooming a young and shy mare, named Kvinn, with blacks spots all over her white body, personally one of Ana's favorites because this one never did anything strange or out of the ordinary. She was softly combing the mares mane when she heard him.

"Oh Miss Ana!"

Her heart stopped and she inwardly groaned. _Mahal_, she had forgotten about the prince! With everything bad that had happened already it just slipped her mind. And now he was here, and she looked like a fool. Again. She had skipped braiding her hair that day, so it was a mess of sweaty and dirty curls. Her tunic and trousers were stained with mud. And her eye looked absolutely terrible. Great.

She whipped around in time to see him appear from the corner. The first thing her eyes were drawn to was that blasted green cloak around him, and if it was at all possible, it was even more dirty. Her fingers itched to take it off him – no, not like that – and take it home. Really, how could a prince be able to escape his uncle looking like that?

He held his common smirk on his face as he sauntered over to the stall she had just come out of. But the smile disappeared instantly when he looked at her eye, and she couldn't help but notice how out of place his frowns were.

Quickly curtseying before he could say anything, she greeted him. "My Prince, I'm surprised to see you here again."

He only shook his head at her, skipping his own greeting. "I knew I should've taken you to see Oin."

"I can assure you, your majesty, that it's not as painful as it looks." Ana had her eyes downcast as she kicked at the floor.

"That doesn't matter," he told her. "I'm sure people have been asking you left and right if you've been mauled by a bear or whatnot." She looked up at him, surprised that he knew of her struggles this morning. He simply pointed a finger at her. "Word gets around much faster than you think, Miss Ana."

"It's nothing a few days rest won't fix, my lord. Besides," she managed a small laugh, "I am not dead, like you've come to check."

He swiftly lifted himself up onto the stall railing separating themselves from Kvinn. He looked down at her, eyebrows raised. "Do you really think the only reason I came was to make sure you weren't dead?"

"Well, that was what you told me yesterday, your majesty."

"Okay, first off," he held up one finger in front of her, "you really must stop with the 'your majesty' nonsense. We're practically the same age, and that makes me feel around a hundred years older than I actually am. Plus, like I also said yesterday, we're in the _stables._ No one's around to report you for being inconsiderate to me. And if some one did, I'd take the blame." He took a big breath. "And second of all, I came back to make sure that you weren't suffering any more from yesterday because of your eye. And by the way I can see it twitching, I can tell that it's much worse."

Her cheeks were _blazing_. She could practically feel the fire eating away at her chest and up her neck. Her hand flew up to cover her left eye out of embarrassment of his comment. Was it really...twitching? Oh, Mahal, this was awful. This was something out of a nightmare, surely. Why would he even say that to her? Didn't he have the slightest idea of what she'd think when his choice of words flew out of his mouth?

He seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. "I'm not going to sugarcoat something serious, lass. You know, you actually might come to appreciate it. I can think of multiple times where my bluntness has gotten others out of trouble. Some say it's a curse, I think it's a gift."

Ana opened and closed her mouth multiple time, just trying to rally up any words to speak with. Finally, she mustered up, "Well, I...I thank you for your concern. Again, actually. But I'm sure it will be healed soon. My eye likes to do things on it's own accord."

"Can I bring you some medicine? Something like at, at least. It would make me feel better."

Oh, no. He was not doing that, not to her. His eyes widened with a touch of self-pity and his mouth settled into a pout. Oh, he was good. She could tell he had perfected his puppy face, and this was just a small taste of it. And she couldn't resist anything of the sort – it made her feel simply awful.

"Ugh. Fine. If it'll make you feel better, then I suppose. But I really don't need it," she told him.

His face broke and he returned to his large smile. "Good." He paused a moment, looking around the stables. "How's Ogri treating you today? Hopefully no more bruises."

She crossed her arms under her chest. "Well, I tried to take him out for a ride, but," she gestured down to her dirt stained attire with a nervous chuckle, "you can see how well that turned out."

"Is he really that bad? I've never had problems with him."

"Yes, well, you're lucky. Every one else refused him, so I'm stuck with him, now."

He had his chin in his hand, his hair a dark curtain framing his face. "How long have you been working here?"

"A year, your – " She stopped short, forgetting about what he said earlier.

The extremely not majestic prince before her cocked an eyebrow. "Caught yourself, didn't you?"

"Forgive me," she said, cheeks pink, "it's just that I find it hard to see you as an equal."

"You'll learn, Miss Ana." He didn't offer any more elaboration on the matter, even though she was now curious. "You said a year. Does the rest of your family work with you?"

She shook her head. "No. My father and three brothers work in the mines and my sister in a bakery in the market. She – "

He really liked to interrupt her. "Wait, wait, wait. _Three_ brothers? And a sister? How do your parents survive that?"

She looked down at the ground. He had no way of knowing about her mother, and she didn't blame him for his words. But it didn't stop her heart from painfully squeezing.

"Well, um, my mother actually died. Around fifty years ago."

An awkward silence filled the room. She didn't dare look up from her shoes because she knew the prince's gaze was on her; she could practically feel it burning a hole where a bruise graced her eye. A painfully long moment passed before he cleared his throat. "I'm very sorry. I didn't know."

Looking up, she offered him a soft, closed smile. "It's quite all right. You had no way of knowing. It doesn't bother me much anymore." She lied.

They lapsed into another silence before he startled her with the clap of his large hands. "I figured it out, Miss Ana."

"What in Mahal's name are you talking about?"

"About how to repay you for, well, that," he pointed to her eye. "I've been trying to think of a way for me to regain your trust because what happened yesterday was completely crazy. And I've just thought of something brilliant."

She held out her hands, stopping him. "Please, stop. In no way are you indebted to me. My prince, it was an accident, I assure you. There's nothing – "

"Ana? Everything okay in there?"

Basil's low voice rang out through her wing of the stable, and it send shudders through her. The older, and much heavier, dwarrowdam was nice enough, but extremely strict when it came to stable rules. And the prince in front of her was breaking a major one: no visits unless approved by the master. Of course, every one was approved, but one still had to ask for permission first.

Kili was a prince, surely Basil wouldn't throw him out. But it still made her uneasy thinking about what Basil would say about the visit. Especially considering his relaxed position perched on the railing. Oh, she would be in so much trouble; she just knew it. By the way Basil gossiped about things she knew she'd be what the talk was about in the dining hall this evening. _Did you hear about Ana Hillins? Being visited by Prince Kili himself! With no escort, as well. Mahal knows what they're up to._

No. No, no, no, no. That was not going to happen. She'd spent her whole life trying to blend in and she was going to continue doing just that. She didn't need a prince's random kindness and interest to mess it up, either.

She knew that with Basil's waddle she had less than a minute to get rid of the cheeky dwarf. She looked up at him, no amusement on her face. "Hide," she whispered.

"What?" he asked with furrowed brows.

"I need you to hide. Right now. I'm sorry, really. But please."

"I'm not going to do anything until you tell me what's going – "

"Ana?" Basil's voice was louder. She only had a few seconds left.

"Oh, please forgive for this," she told the prince in a quiet voice. Mahal, she couldn't believe she was actually going to do this.

"What – "

With both her hands, she ran forward and pushed the Durin brother off the rail and onto the dirt below with a loud thud. He didn't even have time to say anything before she scampered over the railing after him, this time landing on her own two feet. Ana looked down at him, regret and shame all over her face.

"Stay quiet," she hissed at him before turning around to face the mare, acting as though she'd been doing it the whole time.

She was truly shocked at herself. She never thought that she had it in her to, firstly, be blunt to a noble, and, secondly, to touch one uninvited. But, right now, her reputation more so than her morals came first, and sometimes unwanted things occurred.

"Ana? What's all this noise about?" Basil's condescending voice was now at the beginning of the small wing. Ana twisted her head to see the old dwarrowdam with her hands on her wide hips and glaring at her. She swallowed hard, daring to take the smallest glace at the prince at her feet. He was backed up against the wall, hands over his chest, and glaring at her. But his glare was as harmless as a rabbit's, and she had to choke on her laughter to contain it.

She quickly composed herself. "Sorry, what was that?"

Basil didn't seem amused. "I said, what was all that racket about? I could hear you clear down on my end of the wing. You hiding anyone in here?"

"Now who would I be hiding in here? It's me, Basil. Did you try the main room? Maybe a group's coming in." She was surprised at how easy she was able to lie to the woman.

She spared another glance at the prince, and her eyes went wide again. He was balanced on his feet and crouched down, looking at her expectantly. It was almost as though he was ready to spring up and announce himself.

Nope, couldn't have that. Ana took a step forward, seeming as if she was going to get out of the stall. As she approached the locked gate, she gave a swift kick to the prince's leg; strong enough to make him stop, but definitely not hard enough to do any damage. This was Prince Kili, after all. A small maiden's leg wouldn't cause him a scratch.

It didn't stop him from speaking to her, though. "Hey," he hissed with closed teeth, being as quiet as possible.

Ana paid him no mind. She exited the stall and walked over to where Basil stood. "Want me to go with you to see Gleer? He'll know what all the commotion was about, I'm sure." Gleer ran the stables.

Basil looked her up and down with squinted eyes. "No, no," she finally spoke. "I'm sure it's nothing. I just wanted to make sure you weren't causing any trouble."

Ana waved her off. "It's me, Basil. When's the last time I got in trouble?"

"Looks like yesterday with your eye, lass. I heard one of yours caused you some pain."

"It was just Ogri. Nothing that I can't handle, anyways."

"If you're sure," Basil spoke slowly, still not believing that she was completely innocent. "I'll let you be, now. Just try to keep it down in here, I'm training one of mine today."

She nodded hastily. "Will do. Good luck!"

The minute Basil waddled out of view, Ana bolted back to Kvinn's stall, once again flailing over the rail and into the pin, ignoring the gate right next to her. Looking around the stall, she found no prince.

"What in the world?"

"Over here, Miss Ana."

She spun around, almost tripping at the motion. Sitting on the opposite side of the wing sat the prince, perched on Ogri's rail as if nothing had happened. He was stroking his horse's head and grinning at her.

"How...how did you get over there so fast? And without Basil seeing?" She took a mental note to keep her voice down.

He shrugged at her. "It's a talent, I guess," his smile widened, eyes sparkling with mischief. "But I didn't fail to notice that you have a knack for getting yourself out of trouble. You're lying is a hidden gem of yours, Miss Ana."

"It's one that I don't like to use," she told him seriously. "But I won't deny that it comes in handy every once in a while, especially when I have troublesome prince hiding in my stable."

His eyebrows shot up. "Maybe if you would've told me what was going on I would have complied a bit easier, yeah? And you didn't have to kick me, either."

"Sorry, I thought I saw a rat."

"Not nice."

She walked over to where he was, leaning against the gate. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause any harm." She scanned him over and zoned in on his dirt soaked cloak, even more so now because of her doings. "If you don't mind my asking, when's the last time you had that washed?" She pointed to his cloak, not wanting to touch him again without consent.

"Oh, this old thing? Not for a couple of weeks, why?"

Her fingers twitched. "Nothing, really. It just...looks like it could use some attention."

"I'm surprised you're the first one who's noticed it. My uncle usually would, but now he – " He stopped sharply for a moment. "Well, he's not himself, right now," he eventually admitted with dulling eyes. He turned his attention almost completely to his horse.

She could tell he didn't want to speak more of the issue; and Ana was too much of a stranger and too much of a push over to inquire more. So, she put on a smile and braved past the uncomfortable air to ask him, "Would you like to me take it home? I could wash it for you."

To be honest with herself, she had no idea what his reaction was going to be. If anything, she expected a hesitant yes, but that was just a guess. What she didn't account for was a complete refusal.

"Oh, no. You don't have to do that," he told her quite quickly.

"Well, are you going to wash it? Because really, it needs to be."

"I didn't have plans to."

She sighed at him. "Do you know how?"

He gave her another threatless glare. "Of course I do. I'm just...not the best at it. And I don't have the patience for it."

"Then why won't you let me? I'm just offering."

"It's not your job, Ana. I can take care of myself."

She felt as though she was arguing with a child trying to be older than he really was. "I know you can. You're a prince, after all. Consider it a...friendly favor."

He still looked uncertain. So, she went even further. "How about this. If you let me wash your cloak, consider what happened yesterday settled. Not that it already wasn't, but you're set on repaying me in some way."

The prince shook his head. "No. I already was going to repay you with something else. And I think you have this switched around," he laughed, "_I'm_ supposed to do something nice for _you_. Not the other way around."

"It'd make me feel better. Please?" Mahal, they were arguing about washing a cloak. That was downright ridiculous.

He sighed, and she knew it was in defeat. "Fine."

Ana couldn't help the triumphant smile from breaking out on her face. "Good," she told him. "Now it's settled."

"Not even close, Miss Ana," the prince said, hopping down from the rail. "I still have to repay you."

She shook her head. "No, you don't. It was an accident, K – " she stopped herself from using his name. It just felt...too casual. For right now, at least.

"Please, just listen." His face was pulled forward into another small pout. He was catching on to her weaknesses too quickly. He continued when she fell silent. "I know it must get boring, being cooped up in this place all day, day after day. Especially when you're so young. I even feel that way and I can run around the whole mountain. So, I was thinking that I could take you out to Dale for the day. It would be fun, I promise you."

She didn't know how to respond to that. At all. She'd only been to the human city twice before, and she never really cared for it. The hustle and bustle life was certainly not for her, and that was all Dale was. She didn't care for the humans, either; they intimidated her. Already a very small dwarf, she hated being compared to a small child when a human spoke about or to her. Thankfully, she went with her siblings each time and her brothers kept her and her sister safe, but it still made her uneasy thinking about those humans.

"Thank you for the offer, truly. And I would love to accept, but the fact of the matter is that I don't care for Dale. It rather...sets me on edge." She hoped he wouldn't take offense.

He didn't, but he also didn't give up. "You'd be with me, and possible even Fili, all day. Also with guards following us because they always do that when we go out to the city. You'll be absolutely safe."

"I'm not doubting my safety." _I'm questioning your reputation. And mine. _"But won't it be seen as...questionable when they see me with you?"

"I'm allowed to have friends, Miss Ana. And if you're truly that worried about what people think, we can put a bag over your head and smuggle you out of the mountain." It was only because of his twitching – ugh, she hated using that word again – mouth that she knew he wasn't serious. But it still made her eyes widen.

"I am no noble, Prince Kili. I can imagine what people would say about this journey together."

He groaned. "It's for _one day_. Others should not care who I spend it with. I will never be king, my life shouldn't be the gossip around the mountain."

"And I am a stable hand; the only people who should care about my life is my family, never the entirety of the dwarves of Erebor."

He still wouldn't give up. "How about this. We leave early in the morning. I'll tell my uncle and Fili why the trip is being made and only they will know. No one will see anything and we'll return after dark. Problem solved."

_After dark_. The words echoed in her head. She never like the night – the things that lurked in it frightened her too much. Trying not to seem too worried by this she answered, "I still do not think..."

Mahal curse his face. He was doing it again, giving her that look. And she hated him for it. It was absolutely ridiculous. Here was a dwarf prince her own age, pouting like a child so he could get his way in things. Had no one ever told him how to act like an adult?

Apparently not, because he deepened the look, and she groaned in defeat. "Fine, you win. I'll come along."

His face broke out into his signature grin, and he practically jumped out of joy. "You won't regret it, Miss Ana. I give you my word."

"Yes, yes, of course you do," she told him. "But don't forget that I'm washing that cloak before you get it even more filthy."

He nodded. "The cloak for the day?" She noticed that he stuck out his hand, asking for an agreement. Taking in a breath, she gripped his hand and squeezed. She ignored the little tingles that ignited in the tips of her fingers when he squeezed back.

"Deal," she complied. She had absolutely no idea how she was going to explain this one to her family.

* * *

_Woohoo! Another chapter. Hope you all like it. Leave a review and tell me what you think! Also, I've been considering taking a beta for the story, I could always use input. Tell me your opinion!_

_GD_


	4. Chapter 4

The cloak was easy to explain; however, her trip to Dale was not. She had washed and cleaned the green fabric delicately so that it turned out to be pristine, in fact it was probably the cleanest it had been since he had first received it. It was Stala's all seeing eye which spotted the fancy material, and Ana's well practiced lie flowed easily from her mouth.

"Some one left it in the stables. And you know me, can't have anything too dirty lying around. I thought I'd bring it home to wash and then when some one comes to claim it, it'll be clean."

Stala's mouth pinched to the side. "It looks so fancy, though. Who do you reckon it belongs to?"

"I don't know, Stala. Winter's approaching, so I guess it could belong to anybody, noble or not."

The elder sister ran her hands through the soft fabric, and Ana felt a twinge of jealousy at how casual she was able to touch something so...royal? Either way, she didn't know the truth. And that was fine with Ana.

She and the prince had agreed to meet early in the morning in five days time, when her eye would be healed and where he'd take her out to Dale and she'd return the cloak. It was now the evening of the fourth night, and as her family sat around the fire pit she couldn't help but feel her heart start to flutter out of dread for her task to come. What was her family to think? Would they feel betrayed at the fact that she didn't tell them of her incident with the prince? What about her meetings with him for the past week?

There was nothing _major_ to discuss, at least she didn't think so. She didn't want anyone jumping to conclusions, especially one that suggested a certain type of relationship with the prince. They were friends, if you could even call them that. Acquaintances was the better word for them, but they were fastly approaching friendship. She'd began to enjoy the company and laughs that the young dwarf brought with him, and in return she gave him a level opinion and quiet stories.

So, when the family fell into momentary silence, she knew that it was time to announce her plans. Quietly clearing her throat, she boldly dove right in and said, "Father, I'm going to Dale tomorrow. You won't see me until the day after next, most likely."

It was Stormal, the eldest sibling, who answered her. "You're going to Dale? By yourself?" The tall dwarf liked to take up the protective role in the family.

"Yeah," Stornic piped in. "We always go along with you."

Ana grabbed the back oh her neck, coaxing the knots out. "Well...I'm actually going with some one."

Stala practically dropped the needles she cradled in her hands. A smirk appeared on her lips as she leaned back into the chair. "And who might that be, dear sister? Maybe the dwarf who's cloak you've just washed?"

The youngest Hillins' cheeks burned. "No – "

"You've been seeing some one behind our backs?!" Storlac, the normally quiet brother, exclaimed.

Stormal's fists were clenched in his lap. "Who is he? Do I know him?"

"Does he work in the mines?" Storlac chimed in.

"He must," Stala answered for her, "Otherwise he's probably in the market with me somewhere. Mahal knows that there's no one in the stables for her."

Stornic tried to defend her. "How do we know it's a he? Una or Ula could be going with her."

"She wouldn't be this nervous if it was one of them, Nic. I mean just look at her! She's practically a tomato," Stala added.

"So it has to be a dwarf," Stormal said. "And you'd better tell me who it is."

Her father had been quiet for the majority of the sibling squabble, but then he spoke with an authoritative tone that silenced the others. "Let Ana speak, you lot. Stop putting words in her mouth."

Every eye was now focused on her, and she blushed even more. Even with a deep breath, the words tumbled out of her mouth. "Please don't overreact or be mad. I'm sorry for not telling you before, but it didn't seem like a big deal at the time. Obviously I was wrong, but I'd thought...and I couldn't find the words to tell you before and now I've run out of time. But I – "

"Spit the words out, girl," her father commanded. His mouth was set in a straight line.

Ana closed her eyes and sighed softly. _Please stay calm. _"Prince Kili is escorting me."

It was quiet for all of five seconds before the room erupted.

"The PRINCE?"

"When did this blasted thing happen? How do you know him?"

"How long has this been going on, Ana?"

"You've got to be kidding me. How?"

"Why didn't you tell us before?"

"This is huge, Ana. The Prince. Heir to the throne...Mahal, I don't believe this."

All the siblings were overlapping each other, talking circles around the others. Ana simply hung her head and let them rant at her, it's not like she expected anything different. Stala and Stormal were actually on their feet, now arguing each other about _her _life and why or how this happened. Stornic had his head in his hands, and Storlac was staring at her with wide eyes. Her father was silent.

Ana's heart was in her throat. Why did this have to explode upon her? If it was just a dwarf from the market, like Stala had predicted, none of this commotion would have happened. Her family would have politely nodded and questioned her about him and all would be fine. But Kili was a prince, and with royalty came talk and unwanted attention. And in the moment, Ana resented him for that.

"Please, will you all just stop?" she said to them, her voice louder and higher than it normally was.

The yells slowly calmed and silence came over the family. Stormal and Stala sat down with heavy breaths, and they all began to look at her again. Ana's eyes went to her father, who still hadn't moved since he spoke before.

"I'll explain everything, all right? Just please promise not to jump to any conclusions. I assure you that it's not what you think it is." The family reluctantly nodded at her, their mouths shut.

She took a big breath before jumping into her explanation. "Do you remember when I came home with that black eye? Well, it was because of Prince Kili. Not intentionally, of course. And no, Stormal, he didn't physically harm me," she calmed her brother before he could go out and strangle the dwarf, royal or not. "He spooked the horse. He felt terrible about it, and so the next day he came to me and offered to take me out for the day as a sort of...payment. I'm just going to Dale because I didn't want him fretting over something so small and what should be so unimportant in the eyes of a prince. There's nothing," she paused, willing the annoyingly reoccurring flush creeping up her neck to stop, "going on between us. It's just a way to say that he's sorry."

When she had finished, all eyes were upon her. Stormal's were cold, Storlac's questioning, Stornic's accepting, Stala's jealous, and her father's were strangely content. She looked at each of them, willing them for some sort of peaceful response. Ideally, they'd all nod at her and continue on with whatever gossip Stala had to tell them, but she knew that they'd be discussing her _relationship _with the prince for quite some time. She hated that word. It brought along so much baggage that wasn't needed.

"Thanks for letting your _family _know when all of this happened. We really appreciate it."

Ana sighed and shook her head. "Don't be like that, Stala. I didn't know what to say! I didn't think it was a big deal at the time – "

"Didn't think it was a big deal?" Stala interrupted her. "You conversed with _the prince_, Ana! That's huge! None of us have ever spoken with one of the heirs, at least not that personally! Mahal, Ana, use your brain."

Stornic defended her, again. Bless that man. "Now hold on, Stala. Just because you run home and tell us about your...interactions with other dwarves doesn't mean we all have to. Ana's quiet, we all know that. There's probably loads of things she's never told us about."

Curse that man. That brought a whole other load of questions thrown at her.

"What else have you been hiding, Ana?"

"Did you have dinner with King Thorin last month? Or was it Prince Fili?"

Ana hung her head. This was straight out of her worst nightmares – minus the orcs and swords, of course. She hated the fighting, it made her feel smaller and weaker then she already was. It didn't help the fact that she hated anything sharp or that could cause harm; the one time she tried training with a sword she practically bawled her eyes out because she was terrified of hurting herself or some one else. Thankfully, her brothers were always there to shield her from harm – so far.

"Stop it, you lot," her father's low voice commanded. "Ana's 81 years old, she's not a little dwarfling anymore, as much as we all would like that to be true. Who she spends her time with is up to her, not us. Even though it would be nice to know who she's being friendly with." He knowingly raised his eyebrows at her. "Leave the lass alone, she knows what she's doing."

Her love for her father bloomed in her chest, making her want to wrap her arms around his neck and squeeze until she couldn't anymore. She couldn't say it enough – _it was not a big deal_. And her father understood that. At least it seemed like it.

"Thank you, Father," Ana murmured in gratitude.

He grunted some response before attending to his pipe once more. After a moment, he said, "Just be careful what you're doing. Even if he's just doing you a favor, know that people talk about him and his brother. Especially dwarrowdams your age. Be prepared for word to spread about you."

She knew that there was a possibility of that happening, but it still wounded her when her father spoke it. She only talked to Una and Ula; none of the other female dwarves liked to converse with her. If they saw her with the prince, would they go out of their way to hate her, or to befriend her? It was something only time could tell.

"We're leaving early in the morning, Father, and then returning after dark. I'm hoping that we will go unseen."

"You best be going with a guard or two in addition to the prince. Some in Dale don't take to dwarves too well," Stormal added.

"Oh, hush," Stala quieted him, "Humans in Dale like dwarves just fine. I've had multiple men try to flatter me, but they just don't fit my standards. You have nothing to worry about, Ana. Especially if you're going with Prince Kili." She giggled.

Ana looked at the fire. "I hope so." She constantly worried about danger. And going out to Dale was definitely not one of her favorite hobbies. But it made the prince happy and afterward she could go back to being a fly on the wall.

"Is he coming here in the morning?" Storlac asked hesitantly.

She shook her head. "We're meeting down at the stables. I thought it would be easiest that way."

"Well we should be allowed to meet him, don't you think?" Stala asked.

"Leave Ana alone, Stala," Stornic said. "Just because she knows a prince and you don't doesn't mean you can eat off her fortune."

Stala glared at him, but said nothing in return. He did have a point, and quite a good one at that. Her sister was jealous, even if she was desperately trying to hide it.

"You will all be asleep by the time I leave, anyways, Stala. And I'm sure he cherishes his sleep just as much as the next dwarf, so neither of us will be up in spirits until we reach the city," Ana told her.

Her sister shook her head and turned her attention back to her needles. Ana looked around the room to see that each family member had resumed what they were doing before she told them of her trip; she breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. Finally.

Ana snuggled back into the chair she was resting in, legs drawn under herself. The quiet bickering and the flames slowly lulled her near sleep, and soon she excused herself to bed. She needed all the rest she could get before the journey tomorrow.

* * *

She lied to her sister; the prince was coming to get her in the morning. Even though she was a light sleeper, she wouldn't wake up unless something disturbed her. So, when she heard four sharp knocks on her door, she shot up from her bed and quickly ran to the door before some one could beat her to it, even though she knew her family was still slumbering.

She opened the door a crack, not letting herself be seen. "I'll be out in a minute. Stay close to the door." Her voice was strained and groggy, but still light in a whisper. She was refusing to call him simply Kili, and so instead she skipped formalities all together.

"Can't I come in?" he asked. She noted how the prince was speaking in his usual bright tone, as if not effected by the early time.

Ana thought for a moment. "Yes, but wait till my door closes. I'm not dressed properly right now."

She heard him sigh, but still said, "All right."

Nodding, even though he couldn't see her, she told him, "Okay."

A moment after the words left her mouth, she sprinted back into her room and softly shut the door, making sure that the prince could hear it. God, it was like they were children again, running around without their parents knowing. She couldn't help but smile at the similarities; things were so much easier back then. And they all needed a bit more simplicity in their lives in the moment.

A dress was folded over at the end of her bed. It was plain, but still one of her favorites; and she could easily move around in it. Quickly slipping off her bed clothes, she slipped the dark green fabric on and did as many of the laces as she could before having to rouse Stala from her sleep. With only the muttered words of _help_ as her sister's guidance, Ana was on her knees as she blindly tied the laces tightly. Thank Mahal one of them knew how to do it. When she was done, Stala pushed her sister forward and fell back onto her bed, asleep in moments.

She didn't have time to brush her hair, so instead she hurriedly braided in back as best she could, lose strands hanging around her face. Slipping on her shoes, she took a deep breath before exiting the room, his cloak cradled in the crook of her arm.

He was standing in front of the door, looking down at his boots. And she couldn't help but notice just how young he looked; like a dwarfling waiting for his mother to return. In no way was he incapable of taking care of himself – Mahal, he helped _reclaim the mountain_ – but his demeanor just shouted innocence. At least that was what she saw. In the eyes of another, they may see a great warrior or strong prince, but she saw a young, mischievous dwarf, causing as much trouble as he could before he was caught.

Hearing her footsteps, he looked up at her and grinned. "All ready?"

He was dressed in his normal attire, blue tunic, dark pants, and boots. All that was missing was his cloak, which she help out in front of her body. "I thought you'd like this."

It took a second to register, but eventually his eyes crinkled in quiet laughter. "I forgot about this." He gently took the fabric from her, careful not to touch her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she smiled softly back at him.

He made a complete turn with his body. "Nice place you've got here. Very...cozy."

"As much as I'd like to give you a tour, I believe that we have some horses to prepare." She was still worried about being seen, and she couldn't tell how dark it was outside.

"We've plenty of time," he reassured her. "But if you're really that worried, we can go now. Dawn will be coming in an hour or so."

She nodded at him. "Perfect. Can you tell me what's planned for today?" she questioned him as she exited the door he held for her.

Now in the safety of the hallways, he gave her a true laugh of his. "Oh, Miss Ana, patience is a virtue."

She gulped.

* * *

_Okay, so this was supposed to come out tomorrow...but I couldn't wait. :) I love writing this story. Thank you for all the kind feedback! I'll take it all...everything makes me so happy. As some of you know, I LOVE talking about the story, so leave me a little review with some questions and I'll definitely get back to you. Nexto to come: Dale! It should be out in a few days!_

_GD_


	5. Chapter 5 part 1

Ana was completely sure that there was a reason she had never interacted with royalty before. Because in the course of the morning, she had managed to almost kill the prince _and _cause an uproar in a crowd – before lunch.

It had all started with the staircase of doom. The mountain was painfully silent, and their footsteps echoed eerily across the stone walls around them. He made comments here and there, but she had stayed quiet besides the occasional _oh yeah _or _mmhmm_. He was in the middle of a comment about the embroidery on the walls when he abruptly cut off with a loud yell, making her turn to him with wide eyes.

But the prince was no longer standing in front of her, instead he was tumbling down the massive staircase with his cloak smashed onto his face for what she assumed was protection. Pausing for just a second out of shock, she then hiked up her skirt and quickly descended the stairs to where he had – thankfully – stopped around halfway down.

"Are you alright?" she hastily asked, squatting down on the steps to where he was lying. He was somehow on his back, but he was still pinning his cloak painfully on his head. With no response, her heart quickened. "Kili?" No response. _Mahal, I just killed the prince. _She could feel a panic attack coming.

But then he started to shake, and after a halfway breath of relief in the fact that he was alive, she began to think of all the ways King Thorin could possibly banish her for injuring his nephew. She'd be forced to run and get a guard to tend to the prince, the king would question her, and by the time he was through yelling at her her possessions would be packed up and waiting for her at the stables. She wouldn't even have a chance to say goodbye to her family. Mahal, Prince Kili really did screw up her life, and she'd known him for a week.

Her hand hovered over his face for a second before she murmured, "I'm going to go grab some one." She was able to take one step before she heard her name.

"Ana," he said, the cloak now on his stomach, revealing his face.

Which was scrunched up in contained laughter.

Her face dropped – she could feel it fall. Eyes hard and fists clenched, she stomped back down to him. "What were you thinking?" she quietly screeched at him. "I thought you were in some sort of shock or something! I thought...I thought that I'd be banished because you were injured and all because _you _wanted to take me out to Dale! Do you know what that would've meant?! I'd never step foot in Erebor again. I'd never – "

She stopped as she looked down at him. If anything, he began to laugh harder, his hands coming back to cover his face and muffle his chuckles. After staring at him as coldly as possible, she began to crack. It started with the twitching of her lips, a sigh, and then a smile. And there he was, practically rolling in laughter on the floor beneath her, which made her heavy heart lighten and the thick air clear.

A wide grin on her face, she told him, "You imbecile, I can't believe you fell down the stairs. That's something a child would do."

Getting a grip on himself, he lifted his torso, now sitting. "It's quite a common occurrence, Miss Ana. No need to hate me for it."

She rolled her eyes, still mildly chuckling at the accident. As he picked himself up, she said, "I thought you were unconscious or something. You know, I heard that you can die from the stairs. Some one back home told me that."

"Psh," Kili waved her off as they – carefully – continued down the stairs. "Even if that was true, it'll take a bit more than _stairs_ to take me down. I like to think that I'd go in an epic battle alongside my brother or something of the sorts. Something majestic, you know?"

"Didn't that almost happen?" she asked cautiously.

"If you're talking about the incident with Azog, trust me when I say it's nothing to bother your innocent little mind about. It wasn't a big deal."

She stopped in her tracks. Right in the middle of the hall, jaw practically on the floor. He paused mid-step and looked back at her. "What?"

"Not a big deal? Are you kidding me?!" she exclaimed, placing a hand over her mouth when she remembered how early it was.

Kili rolled his eyes. "Don't let the tales convince you of a crazy, fight-to-the death battle, Ana. At least it wasn't for me."

He was joking. He _had _to be. All the stories, all the ceremonies, all the scars that he and his family held...he was lying to her. She shook her head. "I don't believe you. Kili, I've heard the stories from my brothers and they wouldn't lie to me."

"Come on," he grabbed her arm, roughly, and pulled her along; it seemed that he had yet to grasp the idea of _gentle. _"That's another story for another time." She didn't fail to notice the fact that his voice had grown fiercer in their short battle conversation; and from that she knew that his lie wasn't all that true.

"Promise?" she surprised herself by voicing her hesitant thought.

"Yeah," he smiled back at her, "Of course."

The stables were empty, obviously. They quickly loaded their horses – he with Ogri and her with Kvinn – and set out on the road to Dale. Before they left, Ogri knocked her on the ground when she tried to steal Kili away for a moment to assist with her saddle. The blasted beast was highly overprotective of his owner, even when he was clearly in no harm's way. But after a quick yell at the horse he quieted down and Kili, once again, was at her aide.

"You all right there?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she told him, brushing off her dress. "Just a bit dirty, but that's nothing new."

"Well, if it makes any difference at all, I think you're great even with the dirt," he said as he jumped onto Ogri's back. "It makes you much more...grounded."

She really couldn't help herself. After she heard his words, she burst out laughing, not bothering to keep her voice down in the desolate stables.

The prince gave her an innocent look. "What?" he asked for the second time that day.

"_Grounded?_" she asked. "What does that even mean? That I'm close to the ground?"

Kili hung his head with sigh. "No, Ana. Not at all."

"Then what?" she pushed.

"Just..." his eyes searched the room, looking for answers. "You're much more real when you're in here, dirt and all, you know? I'm not trusted with nice looking things, I tend to break them to be honest with you. I feel better knowing that you're not all polished."

Ana stared at him, one brow raised. She exhaled and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm not following in the slightest."

He nodded to the stable gate at the end of the wing. "Just know that it's a compliment. I'll only insult you if you understand it."

"Oh, thank you for your consideration, your majesty."

"I thought we were past all that 'your highness' nonsense?"

"Well..." her mind embarrassingly died on the spot, and her cheeks burned in shame. "I'm sorry, I have nothing."

He gave a loud chuckle, the light sound lost into the wide landscape that they had just entered. Dawn was just approaching, the orange and pink sun just a sliver at the edge of the horizon, the moon still visible in the sky. Instinctively, she looked behind and around her, just to reassure herself that nothing was there.

She ushered Kvinn to walk just the slightest bit closer to Ogri. "Didn't you say that there would be guards coming with us?"

"Don't worry, Miss Ana, you're safe with me. I promised you." He quickly ushered her unvoiced fear away. She looked over to him, and for the first time she noticed the sword that was attached to his hip. She wondered how it didn't hurt him when he took his tumble down the stairs.

"I'm not doubting you," she reassured him. "I was just wondering."

"I told my uncle, and he wanted two to accompany us for the whole journey, but I convinced him to have them meet us before dark before we head back to the mountain," Kili said.

"The great king is allowing his prince into a city full of humans alone?" she gently teased with a smile.

He shook his head, his dark hair swinging at his shoulders, a grin appearing on his lips. "I'm quite persuasive when I choose to be, Miss Ana."

They continued to lightly talk until they reached the outskirts of Dale, the repopulated city towering in front of her in the early light. It took them less than an hour to leave Erebor and travel under the arch that marks Dale, and the sun was now mostly visible in the sky, but blocked out by passing clouds. A light grey atmosphere greeted the two as they tied their horses and began to walk through the city absentmindedly. Humans were just starting to awaken and tend to their daily business, and it surprised her that they didn't draw much attention to themselves.

She stepped closed to the prince, shoulders not far from touching. "Do many dwarves visit Dale often?"

He nodded. "Constantly. It's not an uncommon sight to see us running around the streets." Looking down at her, he offered a knowing smile and quickly placed his hand on her back for a moment. "Like I said before, you're safe with me. No reason to be on edge."

"What exactly will we be doing?" She kept speaking to him, trying to stop her mind from noticing the eyes that she knew were plastered to her, and Kili, as they approached the market.

She could feel him shrug. "Whatever interests you, and me for that manner. I haven't been here since my uncle took Fili and I a few weeks back, so I'm sure I could scrape up something to do."

"Do you visit often?"

"I like to, yes. We visit Bard whenever it's possible. Hospitality and friendship and all that, you know."

"Who's Bard?"

"The Lord of Dale. He helped us in reclaiming Erebor, in the long run, I guess. Much better relationship now rather than years ago, though. He's an alright fellow. Got a couple of kids to look after, too."

Ana nodded, but stayed silent. They were in the market now; and apparently so was everybody else. Most must have lived on the other side of town, because where they had come in only a few were out in the streets. Her head rotated around, taking in everybody. It had been almost a year since her last visit, and it seemed that she had forgotten just how _big _the humans were.

Kili seemed to have read her mind. "The market here gets busy early; traders and such, but they're all to busy to pay attention to anything but their business. Was there anywhere you wanted to look? We've all day."

"Um..." she was at a loss for words. When she came with her family, it was only for a short amount of time and for a specific reason. She was never able to go and explore for herself, not that she really wanted to, anyways.

"Or we can just walk for a bit. Stop when we like," Kili offered instead.

"That's fine," she responded, thankful for the fact that he was much more confident in his actions than she was at the moment.

They had barely walked for a minute before Kili caught sight of a trinket stall and dragged her in with him. There were a few children looking about and a woman with, presumably, her elder mother. It shocked her that _this_ was the first place he wanted to look.

"Did you see something in here?" she asked him as he lead her to a shelf of older, handmade objects.

He had picked up a small wooden carving of a boat when he answered, "I've passed this place countless times and have never come in. It's always looked interesting, so why not?"

He had a point, even if it was a small one. She left his side, seeing no danger in doing so, and gave her attention to a pile of knitted scarves and gloves. As she felt the soft, colorful fabric, she could tell that they had been handcrafted by skilled hands. She had never learned to sew and knit, it was something that her mother tried to teach her, but was awfully unsuccessful. Stala took up that job in the family, along with most everything else.

"So tell me about the exquisite life of Ana Hillins," he said to her. The prince was pointlessly grabbing at things, tossing them from hand to hand with a carefree expression. "You said you have four siblings, right?"

"Yes," she told him. "All older than me, too. So I will forever be looked at as 'the baby' – even when I'm old and grey. My brothers practically had heart attacks when they found out I was going to Dale without them."

"Don't tell me that I have three angry dwarves that want me dead waiting for me when we get back," he said grimly.

She thought for a moment. "Dead is a strong word. I'd say more like...slightly maimed. Even if you are a prince."

He laughed at her. "Well that makes me feel much better. Just another target on my back."

"You sound as if you have before."

She realized her idiocy a moment after she spoke, and she would have slapped herself if she were alone. Her cheeks were red as she hung her head, fumbling out words to cover her tracks. "I mean...you've obviously had..._things_ wanting you – well, dead – but I'm talking about other dwarves wanting to...impale you, or something like that. I think."

He simply shook his head, his famous smirk plastered on his face. "I think I like you, Miss Ana. Even with your ramblings."

She was focused on a necklace that she had found – a silver chain with small wooden pendant at the end. The carving was of a sliver of a moon and part of a sun; two things that don't belong, but are still needed for the greater good of things. She was drawn to the piece of jewelry, even though she was in no place to want or need it.

Kili must have noticed her distraction. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing," she lifted her hand from the wood and lifted her head to him. "Just a necklace. Are you ready to leave?"

He gave her a momentary strange look before agreeing. "Sure. There's plenty more to see around here. And most of the day, too."

They left the small stall, Kili offering a nod to the man sitting on a stool at the entrance. Out in the street, humans, and she even saw a handful of dwarves, were busy moving from stall to stall, talking, walking, moving, and everything else they could do. She didn't notice it at first, but it became more and more evident that the humans were acknowledging her and Kili with polite smiles and nods. Scratch that, they were greeting the prince, not the girl next to him.

"I didn't realize so many people knew who you were," she quietly said to him as they began to walk down the main street.

"Trust me when I say it gets much worse when my uncle and brother are with me."

"I don't see how you can stand it," she murmured, keeping her head down.

Kili shrugged. "You get used to it, I guess. They're just looking, no harm in that."

"What about the talking?" she asked, hearing the faint mumblings as they passed by.

When he didn't answer right away, like his normal fashion, she looked up at him. He was staring ahead at two young women as they approached them. Before they were in front of her and Kili, Ana practically squeaked, "Do they normally come up to you?" She took a step towards the prince, their arms touching.

"Only a certain crowd does," he whispered back.

The two women, now a few feet away, quickly curtseyed before one spoke to Kili. "Good morning, Prince Kili." The other one smiled in agreement. "My friends and I were wondering what brings you to Dale? And without your kin?"

The woman was extremely straightforward, and when she caught Ana's eye at the end of her sentence, the dwarrowdam looked at her feet and angled herself slightly behind the prince. She was beyond humiliated; she was mortified at the confrontation. She knew why they were coming up to him, but she was too embarrassed to even admit it to herself.

"Just an outing, miss," Kili said to her, not giving her the answer he knew she wanted.

The other one intervened, "But we've never see you here without your king. And never with this dwarf."

Did humans have no respect in the slightest? This was a _prince_ for Mahal's sake. And even if he wasn't, why ask that. If Ana had a distaste for humans before, this just added to it. These women were awful, even more so than some dwarrowdams back in the mountain.

"Just an outing, like I said before," he spoke again with a polite smile.

"Who are you, miss?" the first one spoke. And it took Ana a moment to realize that she was speaking to _her_, not Kili.

She didn't have a chance to answer, though. The prince spoke for her. "I don't think that matters. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have business to attend to."

Kili, for the second time, placed a hand on her back and began to hastily lead her past the two women. As she passed, she offered them a slight nod of head, but continued to move her legs fast enough to keep up with the prince. She also noticed that beyond the women were a clump of five or six more, now speaking in quiet whispers and hand gestures. Ana inwardly groaned.

They walked up the main street and turned a corner before Kili let her go. Stopping at the side of a structure, he said, "Sorry about that, it normally doesn't happen that often. Are you all right?"

Ana nodded. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble," she admitted to him.

He shocked her by laughing. "_You_ didn't do anything, Ana. But I will say that it will be quite some time before you'll be able to forget about this trip. Word spreads quickly, and I'm afraid that we just started a nice little rumor about ourselves."

She let out a sigh, knowing that his words were true. She should have known that this would happen – he was royalty after all. But that didn't stop her from feeling the dread that crept up her spine.

She'd have quite the story to tell – and explain – once she was back home.

* * *

_Hey guys! Sorry for the slight delay on getting this out. BUT IT'S HERE. So they're in Dale now. This is the first part of the chapter, part two will be out probably around next Friday. I'd like to do updates on Fridays or Saturdays, whichever works! Lemme know what you think, what you want to happen, and anything else. I WANT TO KNOW! _

_xoxo GD_


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